More farms might face restrictions

FRYBURG - Farmers in the St. Marys, Auglaize, Little Auglaize and Ottawa river watersheds may soon be required to meet stricter fertilizer regulations after Gov. John Kasich signed an executive order.

The Auglaize County Township Association members heard on Wednesday that Kasich has signed an executive order asking the director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture to consider all or portions of the watersheds as "watersheds in distress."

Other watersheds included in the executive order are Platter Creek, Little Flat Rock Creek, Eagle Creek and Blanchard River. All are part of the western basin of Lake Erie watershed and are being targeted due to their high nutrient levels, "especially levels of phosphorus from fertilizer runoff and soil erosion," according the governor's office.

Consent from the Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission is needed for the declaration. If Kasich's proposal is approved, the Grand Lake watershed will no longer be the only one in Ohio designated as distressed.

State Rep. Craig Riedel, R-Defiance, who spoke at the township association meeting, said the move would mean more fertilizer regulations for farmers in the area. He expressed disappointment, saying he'd hoped for a more collaborative and voluntary effort between farmers and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Distressed watershed rules ban manure application between Dec. 15 and March 1 unless a landowner receives state permission. Nutrient-management plans and requirements for the storage, handling, land application and control of residual farm products, manure and erosion of sediment would need to be established under the executive order.

A distressed watershed designation can be removed only after the ODA director has confirmed the "sustained recovery, restoration and mitigation of factors leading to the original designation," according to a news release.

Nutrient runoff from agricultural fertilizer is considered a leading contributor to harmful algal blooms that have plagued the western end of Lake Erie, according to documents from the governor's office. Ohio has invested more than $3 billion since July 2011 to improve the Lake Erie watershed, the documents read.

Additionally, Riedel said lawmakers had passed the Clean Lake 2020 Plan, which would put aside more money to clean up Lake Erie, conduct research on uses for dredge materials and help end the open-lake disposal of dredged materials. Riedel said more funding is needed and open-lake disposal of dredge materials has only "stirred the pot" of potential algal blooms.